Automatic grease-cup.



"O. ALLEN. AUTOMATIG GREASE CUP. APPLICATION rum) JAN.23,1908.

91 0,346; Patented Jan. 19, 1909.

F5 Z Z (I? f4 45 10 m5 T1 F11 P/ [NVENZOR OTIS ALLEN, OF NEWARK, OHIO.

A'U'I OMATIC GREASE-CUP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 19, 1909.

Application filed January 23, 1908. Serial No. 2,349.

clear and exact descri tion of the invention such as will enable otners skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in automatic grease cups and more particularly to that class adapted to be used for feeding lubricant to journals and my object is to provide a device of this class, whereby the flow of the lubricant will be uniform at all times.

A further object is to provide means for readily and quicklyattaching the grease cup in position. I

A still further object is to provide means for retaining the feeding plunger at one end of the cup, while the cup is being filled with the lubricant and a still further object is to provide means on the cup whereby the cup may be used in connection with sockets of different sizes.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accom anying drawin s which are made a part of t is application, igure 1 is a vertical, sectional view through one end of'a driving rod and journal of that class used in connection with railway locomotives showing my improved grease cup operatively attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the grease cup removed, Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof, and, Fig. 4 is a sectional view .of the body of the cup, showing the manner of forming the band thereon.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 indicates a driving rod, such as is commonly used in connection with railway locomo= tives, to the ends of which are secured straps 2, said straps being secured to the driving rod in an preferred manner, as by introducing bo ts 3 throughthe straps and the interposed portions of the driving rod. The closed ends of the straps 2 extend beyond the endsofthe driving rod and rovide a seat for the usual form of bearing rasses 4,

fiaidbrasses being formed ,in twb section's ever, necessitates a great deal of ex body 11, whi-co. open its lower e and having semi-circular cavities 5 intheir meeting faces, through which extends the journal 6. The meeting faces of the brasses l are slightly spaced apart, whereby said brasses may be adjusted towards each other to compensate for any wear thereon and to better accomplish this result, the ends of the driving rod 1 are slightly tapered and a wedge 7, having tapered face to cooperate with the taper of the end of the driving rod, introduced between the driving rod and bearing brasses, the wedge being of less length than the distance between the two arms of the strap and having a threaded o ening 8 extending longitudinally thereof, tirough which extends a threaded bolt 9 and it will be readily seen that when the bolt is rotated in one direction, the wedge 7 will be gradually drawn upwardly and the brasscs moved towards each other, thereby taking up the wear of the brasses and pre: ventin knocking of the driving rod on the journals.

It has been found in practice that by solidifying the lubricant, it can be more systematically fed to the journals, and. by so preparing the lubricant, it requires special grease cup for holding the same, this form of oil cup being threaded into a socket 10 extending upwardly from the straps 2, and in using the form of grease cup n ow commonly employed, unless great care is exercised in removing the cup or introducing the sarnr nto the socket, the threads on the interior of the socket become mutilated, and in view of the preva-- lence of such mutilation, the sockets have heretofore'been lined with hushi so t I said bnshin could be I'QDhT-Kji when the t reads become mu manner ofattaching the grea to this end I have provided my form of grease cup, comprising a cyi.

portion of the body employed for cloth end of the body, being formed into a nut 12, whereby a wrench may be readily pplied to the cup for removing or securin the same to the socket. The outer face of t is body 11 is provided substantially at its longitudinal center with a band or extension 13, the outer face of said band having threads 14 formed thereon, which are adapted to engage threads 15 on the interior of the socket 10, said threads 15 being preferably limited to the upper portion of thesogket.

. socket may be transferred to another socket lthreads on the cup, while the socket from come stuck, so "that in removing the same,

. been fitted, become destroyed, said cup may 2 mas-re It has been the custom heretofore in con diameter to lit the enlarged socket or if a cup structing sockets to row are the grease cups, is not to be found, the collar on which will to line said sockets with bushing, as the 5 lit the enlarged socket, a new threads on the interior of the sockets are fre- 5 into use and the band turned quently broken or mutilated, so that the socket. threads on the cup will not hold, in which 1 Tue closed end of the body 11 is provided event it becomes necessary to remove the with a central opening 16, through which exbushing having the mutilated threads and tends a plunger 17, the lower end of said place a new bushing in the socket and it ha. l plunger being provided with a piston 18, the also been found. that frequently the cups bc peripheral face of which is provided with a recess to receive any suitable form of packing 19, thus preventing the lubricant from passing between the piston and the wall of the body. The plunger 17 is of sufficient down to fit said l the bushing is twisted loose from the wall of l the socket, and to overcome these objectionable features, and at the same time enable i me to produce a cup at a minimum cost, I haveprovided the band or extension on the cup and, entirely dispensedhvith the bushing and placed threads directly on the wall of the socket.

When the cups are cast, the bands 13 are formed of a much larger diameter than necessary to fit standard sized sockets, so that should the threads on the wall of the socket become broken or otherwise destroyed, the socket may be reamed out 'to remove the broken threads and new threads placed therein, this operation enlarging the interior of the socket, so that the bands 011 the cups, turned vdgly lit into the body 11, down to fit the standard sized sockets, will be stick of lubricant resting on the base 21 of too small forthe enlarged socket, but byprothe socket 10, while the piston 18 rests on vid'ing the enlarged bands, a new cup is the opposite end thereof and in order to employed in connection with the enlarged iuniformly feed the lubricant through a port socket and the band thereon turned down 22 in the strap 2, a spring 23 is coiled around and provided with threads to fit the enlarged the plunger 17 between the closed end ofthe socket, while the cup originally fitted to the body 11 and the piston 18, the tension of said spring being so regulated that the lubriof a standard size. This operation may he cant nill not be fed throu h the port 22 repeated any number of times or until such faster than it is consumed by the journal, time as thevgall of the socket becomes too the lubricant, after leaving the port 22, thin to receive additional threads, as the collars, when originally repared, are to be of such diameter as to fit the largest opening that could be made in the socket and as these I bands are formed in blank, the faces of said bands may be readily turned down to fit the opening in the socket and then provided with threads to engage the threads on the interior of the socket. It will likewise be seen that I should the threads on the cups become l broken, except those of course which were originally prepared to lit the standard sized socket, said broken threads may be likewise removed from the band and said band turned down to lit a socket of a smaller size and again supplied with new threads. It will further be seen that the cups may be used until completely worn out, as should the threads in the socket to which the cup has lowest position and is provided adjacent its upper end with a cross arm 20, which arm is adapted to be used in moving the piston towards the closed end of the body, as well as to serve. as an indicator to show when the body is practically empt the close proximity of the cross arnr-to the top of the nut 12 indicating that the body should be re plenished with lubricant.

in preparing the lubricant, it is preferably made into stick form of sufficient diameter to s1 one end of the end of the body when the piston is in its 1' rasses 4 onto the journal 6.

piston to the open end of the body, While the cup is being fil ed with lubricant, a hm 24. is provided on the plunger 17, which is at apted to extend over and engage the upper faee of to be returned to thesocket channel 25 formed in the nut 12, sufficient width and the lug is so I which is of to snugly receive the lug located on the plunger 17 when the piston 18 is moved'to its uppermost stroke, so that b giving a slight turn to the plunger after it ias' been moved its full distance, the lug will be moved out of registration with the channel and over the face of the nut, thereby holding the piston adjacent the closed end of the body until the lunger is again rotated and the lug broug it into registration with the channel when the ten sion of the spring u ill force the piston against be transferred to another bearing having a the lubricant and feed the lubricant to the l socket of such diameter as to receive the which the cup has been removed, is to be reamed out and rethreaded and a cup entered journal. therein having a band thereon of SUlfiClOIll) In applying the grease "cup to use, the

length to extend slightly above the closed passing between the'nieeting faces of the To prevent the spring from moving the the nut 12, while the cup is being filled and through a cup is brought as to register with the outer face of the nut 7 socket until the lower end of the body is firmly seated against the base 21, the forcing of the end of the body against the base, serving. as a lock to prevent the cu from casual removal from the socket, there y dispensing with the usual'form "Ofi lock-nut usually employed for this purpose. The plunger 17 is then given a reverse rotation until the lug is again brought into registration with the channel 25 when the spring will exert pressure on the piston and lower the piston into positive engagement with the stick of lubricant, the downward movement of the piston being suflicient to enter the lug in the channel and it will be readily seen that as the lubricant is consumed by the journal, the tension of the s ring will gradually force a new supply of hi ricant through the ort 22 .into engagement with the journa, said lubricant being continuously and uniformly fed until the stick of lubricant has been entirely consumed. It will further be seen that by forming the bodyof the cup with an exterior band or extension of such diameter as to fit the largest sized opening that could be made in the socket or turned down to fit various sized smaller sockets-on the straps, the usual form of bushing now employed to receive the threaded portion of the cup, may be dispensed with, which is a very important item, as it frequently occurs in attempting to remove the cup, that the bushing becomes loosened from the wall of the socket, thereby requiring a great deal of time and labor in removing the cup, as well as the destruction of the bushing. What I claim is: In combination with a driving rod,,straps thereon and brasses within the straps, sald straps having a port therein communicating with the space between the opiposed faces of the brasses; of an annular ange formed with the straps around the port a distance therefrom, said port being approximately centrally lof the area within the flange, the outer internal portion of the wall being threaded, a cylindrical body insertible-within the flange, said body having an outer portion threaded to engage'the threads of the flange, the end of the body within the flange being adapted to contact with the stra s,

,theopposite end of the body being provi ed with, a closure. having an o ening therein and having a channel in a we of the opening, a piston within the body, a stem carried by the piston projecting through the opening Y of the closed end of the body, an ex .ansible spring within the body embracing t e stem and inter osed between the closed end of the body an the piston and a lug projecting from the stem adapted to pass through the channel in the wal of the opening of the closed end of the body.

vIn testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OTIS ALLEN.

Witnesses:

W. T. Frrz GERALD, 7 PHILIP S. COFFMAN. 

